Beet-blocking machine.



No. 754,682. PATBNTEDMAR. 15, 1904.

A. R. MUNDT. y

BBBT BLOGKING MACHINE.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 1,1903.

No. 754,682. PATENTED MAR. 15,1904.

A. R. MUNDT.

BERT BLOGKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11. 1903. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 754,682. PATENTED MAR. 15, 1904. A. R. MUNDT.

BBBT BLOCKING MACHINE.

APPLIUATIO'N FILED MAY 11, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES Patented March 15, 1904..

PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT R. MUNDT, OF CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO GEORGE W. TUCKER, OF

CHESTERFIELD, MICHIGAN.

BEET-BLOCKING" MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 754,682, dated March15, 1904.

Application tiled May 11, 1903. Serial No. 156,597. (N0 lllOdelJ T0 allwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERTR. MUNDT, a citizen of the United States,residing in the township of Chesterfield, in the county of M acomb,State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ,inBeet-Blocking Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it -appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to a beetblocking machine; and it consists in theconstruction andv arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth, andpointed out particularly in the claims.

The object of the invention is to provide simple and eiiicient means forreadily blocking the rows of beet-plants when said plants shall haveattained the requisite growth, the machine being of comparatively simpleand inexpensive construction and capable of ready manipulation, whilethe arrangement is such as to enable the machine to be guided by thedriver to maintain it perfectly inline. A further arrangement serves toprevent the hoes from becoming clogged, while provision is made forraising the gangs or frame-sections containing the hoes and forpreventing the parts from becoming broken should the hoes encounter anobstruction in the field.

The above object is attained by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of themachine involving this invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3is a detail in section through one of the transporting-Wheels and itsjournal, showing the manner of connecting the journal-supportingcoupling to'the axle. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view throughv,one of the beams between the sides of which the standards of the hoesare pivoted. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of some of the operativeparts, portions of which are broken away. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail,partly in section, of one of the levers for raising one of the gangs ofhoes, showing the standard to which the lever is fulcrumed and thecircular rack carried thereby with which the locking-slide ofthe leverengages. Fig. 7 is an elevation of aportion of the transverse bar whichis hinged to the axle and to which the beams carrying the hoes areadjustably secured. Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the double beamssecured to said bar, showing the standards to which the hoes areattached pivoted between the sides of said beam.l Fig. 9 is a transversesection as on line 9 9 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the characters of reference, 1

4designates the axle, formed, preferably, of

tubing of the requisite gage and which exextends transversely of themachine. At each end of said axle is a coupling 2, having a socket inthe horizontal portion thereof, which receives the end of the axle andin which the axle is secured by the bolt 3, which passes through saidparts. The vertical portion 4 of said coupling has an aperturetherethrough which receives the stem 5 of the bracket 6, said stem beingswiveled in the vertical portion of said coupling and receiving at itsupper end the clamp-collar 7, which holds said stem in its bearing.Projecting laterally from the bracket 6 is the journal 8, which passesthrough the hub 9 of .the transporting-wheel'lO, whereby said wheel ismounted to rotate and to vswing in the arc of the circle concentric withthe axis of the stem 5. Upon the periphery of each of thetransporting-wheels is a radial flange 11, adapted to enter the soil andprevent the machine from shifting.

Projecting from each of the clamp-collars 7, which embrace the upperends of the stems 5, is an arm 12. Secured to the outer end of eachofsaid arms is the rod 13. Said rods extend inwardly and have their innerends pivoted at 14 to the forward end of the steering-lever 15, which isfulcrumed at 16 to a suitable stand 17, fast to theY axle 1, andcarrying at its top a circular plate 18, having a tooth-segment 19concentric with the fulcrum of the lever 15. Mounted to slide in thelever is a locking-dog 20, adapted to engage the teeth of the circularrack to lock thc lever 15 against movement. Secured to the lower end ofsaid dog is a plunger-rod 21, which passes through a guide 22 on thelever 15 and has thereon a coiled spring 23, which is compressedbctween'the lower ends of said rod and the guide 22 to normally hold thedog in engagement with the circular rack. Pivoted to the upper end ofthe plunger-rod 22 is the operative-handle 24, which is fulcrumed to thelever 15 and by means of which said plunger-rod may be retracted tocarry the dog from engagement with the circular rack to allow a movementof the lever 15. By unlocking said lever and shifting it the rods 13will be actuated to turn the stems 5 of the brackets carrying thetransporting-wheels, and thereby ,swing said wheels so as to change thedirection of the machine, as illustrated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Bymeans of this arrangement the machine may be kept in perfect alinementwith the rows of beet-plants, although the horses may swerve from theircourse, making it possible for the operator to cause the machine totravel in a perfectly straight line across the field.

Extending transversely of the machine parallel with and slightly belowthe axle 1 is a bar 25. This bar is supported upon the axle by thehinge-bolts 3, which are provided with angle ends that enter the eyes26, secured to the rear face of said bar. The bar 25 is divided at itslongitudinal center, so that there are two separate sections thereof,each section of which is adapted to swing independently 4upon itshinges.

Y lThe cutting blades or hoes 27 are secured to outwardly and downwardlycurved standards 28, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. These standards have ahorizontal portion 29, which lies between the opposed sides of the beams30 and are pivoted at 31 therebetween.' rlhe beams 30 are arranged inpairs and comprise horizontally-extending bars, between the sides ofwhich the standards of the hoes are pivoted. The beams are of dierentlengths and are arranged so as to alternate in pairs. rEhe beams of eachpair are connected at the base, which is provided with the projectingears 32, wherebythe beams may be secured to the bar 25 by means of thebolts 33. The bar 25 is shown in Fig. 7 as provided with a double row ofapertures 34 to receive the bolts 33, and said apertures are so arrangedas to enable the beams to be adjusted laterally, so as to increase ordecrease the space between the rows of beets blocked out by the machine.The hoes 27 are formed of steel blades provided with a sharp forwardedge, as well as a cutting lower edge, and the ends of said hoes arebent or curved obliquely, so as to overlap and cause one to travel inthe path of the other. The length of the beams 30 is such as to causeeach alternate hoe to stand in advance of its companion hoe, therebyeffecting a staggered arrangement and obviating the liability of tearingthe ground and a possible loosening of the plant and also obviating theliability of clogging the hoes with weeds or other foreign accumulationwhich might lodge across them. It will be noted that the hoes coverevery portion of the ground traversed by the machine except that portionwhich lies between the hoes mounted in each pair of beams. This space ona full-sized machine will be equal to two inches, more or less, and willbe sufficient to leave standing between each pair of hoes as the machineis drawn along the plant it is desired to cultivate, while the hoes uponeach side will cut out the remaining plant, as will be well understood.

To provide for raising the gangs of hoes when transporting the machinefrom place to place, so as to free them from contact with the ground,the levers 35 are employed. Each of these levers is pivoted or fulcrumedat 36 in the free end of the curved standard 37, which is divided at itsbase and said divided parts fiared outwardly to serve as a lateralbrace, the lower ends being securely clamped at 38 to the axle 1.The-free end of each lof the standards 37 lies in a slot in itscorresponding lever 35 and is provided with a circular rack 39, adaptedto be engaged by a sliding pawl or dog 40, mounted in each of saidlevers and connected by means of a bail 41 with a plunger 42, mounted oneach of said levers and passing through a suitable guide 43 thereon.Each of said plunger-rods is provided with a coiled spring 44, whichencircles the end thereof between the guide 43 and the free end of saidrod, its tension being normally exerted to hold the dog 40 in engagementwith the rack 39. Pivoted at 45 to each of said levers 35 is the handle46, which suitably engages the plunger-rod 42 and by means of which saidrod is actuated to withdraw the dog from engagement with the rack 39. ofthe levers 35 are the connecting-rods 47, whose lower ends diverge andare pivotally connected to the cross-rod 48, lying across the beams 30,in which are secured the standards of thehoes. Said rod 48 is secured tosaid beams by means of the blocks 49, each of which is provided with aneye 50 therethrough and is secured by bolts 5l between the sides of saidbeams. The rod 4() passes through the eye 50 in said blocks, whereby thebeams become united with or secured to said bar. It will now be apparentthat by depressing either of the levers 35 the gang of hoes mounted inthe beams connected by the rod 48 with said lever will be raised, asshown at the right of Fig. 1, so as to stand free from the ground. Thebar 25, to which the beams are secured, swings upon the hinge-bolts 3 toaccommodate said movement.

In order to allow the hoes to rise and pass Secured to the inner ends ofeach IOO IIO

over any encountered obstruction without causing all of the hoes in thegang to be carried upwardly from their work by said obstruction, thestandard of each hoe, as before stated, is pivoted at 31 between thesides of the beams 30, whereby upon the encountering of an obstructionby the hoe it will be allowed to raise in order to pass saidobstruction. To guide the standard in its movement and keep it alwaysconfined between the sides of the beam, the horizontal portion 29thereof is provided with the projecting end 52, which is adapted to playbetween the sides of the beam and maintain the standard properly inplace. For the purpose of returning the standard to its normal positionafter the hoe is raised to pass an obstruction a coiled spring 53 isemployed, which is secured to the depending portion of the projectingend 52 and to the rear portion of the beam, as clearly shown in Fig. 4.This' spring will yield as the hoe is raised to permit any necessarymovement thereof and will serve to return the parts to their normalposition after the obstruction has been passed without in any senseinterfering with the work of any other hoe in the gang.

The draft-bars 54 are secured at their ends to suitable fittings 55,whichare clamped at 56 rigidly to the axle. The' bars 57 of the tongueare secured in any suitable manner to the draft-bars. These draft-bars,as will be seen, are double and are superimposed, the bars of the tonguefitting between them. Should it be desired to convert the tongue into apair of thills for a single horse, the bars of the tongue maybeseparated and shifted to the outer ends of the draw-bars, so that ahorsemay work between them. Attached to the center of the draw-bar is asuitable clevice 58 for attachment of the whiffletree. If it is desiredto pull directly from the draw-bars, they may be provided at their endswith suitable hooks 59, to which a swingletree may be coupled.

Having thus fully set forth my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I 1. In a beet-blocking machine,the combination of the fixed axle, a bracket swiveled at each end ofsaid axle and carrying an outwardly-extending journal,transporting-wheels mounted on the journals of said brackets, rodsconnected with the swiveled stems of said'brackets, a lever mounted onthe axle between its ends to which the ends of said rods are coupled,said lever being pivotedto swing in the arc of a horizontal circle, abar extending parallel with the axle and hinged thereto, rear- Wardlyextending divided beams mounted upon said bar to move longitudinallythereof, a series of hoes pivoted between the divided sides of saidbeams, said hoes being arranged in pairs to leave an open space betweenthem for the blocking of the beet-plants, the ends of said hoesoverlapping on each side of the space left for the plants substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a beet-blocking machine, the combination of the rigid axle, thetransporting-wheels at the ends of said axle, the bar hinged in the rearof the axle, beams mounted in pairs to slide longitudinally on said bar,means for raising and lowering a series of said beams in unison, saidhoes having standards pivoted between said beams, said standards havinghorizontal end portions which lie between the sides of said beams, aspring attached to the horizpntal end of each standard for maintainingeach hoe-beam normally in place, whereby each hoe may pass over anobstruction without effecting the other hoes in the gang.

3. In a beet-blocking machine, the` combination of the fixed axle, thetransporting-wheels at the ends of said axle, the bar parallel with theaxle and hinged to the rear thereof, the hoe-carrying beams secured tosaid bar, to render them laterally adjustable, standards pivoted inpairs between the sides of said beams,

a hoe secured to each of said standards, one hoe i in each pair being inadvance of the other, a guide upon each of the standards adapted to liebetween the sides of said beams, and a spring attached to the standardsto yieldingly retain the hoes in aworking relation with the ground.

4:. Ina beet-blocking machine, the combination with the ixed axle, ofthe transportingwheels at the ends of said axle, a bar secured to theaxle and extending parallel therewith, the beams secured to said bar,the hoe-standards pivoted between said beams, means for .normallypreventing movement of said standards upon their pivots, hoes attachedto lsaid standards, said hoes being arranged in pairs, one in advance ofthe other and spaced to afford roomfor a beet-plant between them, therear ends of said hoes extending rearwardly and curving laterally, so asto work the entire surface of the ground between the plants which areleft by the hoes.

1n testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT R. MUNDT.

Witnesses:

STUART H. SWITZER, ELMER V. SUTTON.

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